A Different Life
by ajhamilton93
Summary: What if Craig's abuse had been more severe and left his more broken? "Craig could hear it in his father's voice. He was ready for a fight. It didn't matter that Craig was his son and the only family he had left, and Craig could feel it, it was worse than it's ever been…he was really going to kill him this time if he stayed and let it happen."
1. Chapter 1

Craig sat on his floor stunned and dizzy. Why did this have to be his life? When did it get this bad?" he thought to himself. He shifted his weight to rise from the floor but the pain again brought him back to his knees.

"Craig, get down here now!" a loud voice bellowed from down the stairs. His dad was back home probably from the bar again, washing away the realization that he had just beat the shit out of his kid…his 14-year-old son; guilt drowned out by whisky, and now he was back to anger. Craig desperately tried to come up with a plan to get out of this nightmare.

"You answer me when I speak to you!" he heard again. It was dark out his window and he could feel the cold air hit the bruises on his face feeling the passage of time. Craig could hear it in his father's voice. He was angry. He was ready for a fight. It didn't matter that Craig was his son and the only family he had left, and Craig could feel it, it was worse than it's ever been…he was really going to kill him this time if he stayed and let it happen. He had to get away.

"It's the fight or flight mechanism in the body that protects animals in times of mortal danger." Craig could recall his science teacher saying in class. She meant animals in the wilderness about to be eaten by a lion but Craig knew that his adrenaline was surging all the same as he moved despite his bruised abdomen and bleeding face. His dad had a golf club. Craig could hear the metal as it struck through his bedroom door, all but breaking down the splintered wood. He couldn't fight against him; Craig knew that for sure. Albert Manning was bigger than his just barely a teenage son. Plus, he was drunk and had an anger that took him to a different place; made him a different person. There was no stopping him.

So, Craig ran. Heart racing, he threw a few belongings in his backpack in a daze and opened the window to his second-floor bedroom and jumped. A sharp pain shot through his left leg, but he ignored it and ran with all his might.

"Don't let him catch you. He's going to kill you" repeated like a mantra in his head. Fortunately, Albert, either blind with rage or alcohol kept tearing down the door, oblivious to the fact there was no longer anyone on the other end. He was alone, having driven the last person out of his life.

Finally, a few miles away and far enough from his home, Craig slowed his run. His body was reeling from the beating and exertion, but his mind was left manic and crazed. Where could he go? Shawn's place? Emma's? He barely knew these guys; he couldn't hide away there. What if his father came looking for him? He didn't want to risk it. Joey came to his mind. Joey was kind. Joey was good to him growing up. Best of all, Joey was an adult. He could help him think this through. He could tell him what to do next. Protect him?


	2. Chapter 2

Craig turned, almost at Joey's house. He had stopped, changed his mind, and then changed it again throughout the short walk. Should he be bothering Joey with this? His mom was dead. Did any familial responsibility with Joey die with her? He was all but a stranger now besides the memories of weekends visiting when he was younger, before their lives were shook by the cancer that ultimately destroyed his mother, but out of other options, Craig carried on. He couldn't go back to his father, but he wasn't sure what to do himself. Before he could stop himself again he stepped up the front porch steps and rang his stepfather's doorbell.

Archie Simpson, answered his friends front door. It was late, Joey's daughter Angela was at her grandmother's house. The old friends had been hanging out and reminiscing but were about to call it a night. Joey was cleaning up the empty pizza boxes when the doorbell rang so Archie made his way through the small entryway to see who was seeing his friend so late at night. A girl maybe? Thinking of all the jokes to make regarding a late night "booty call" with his old friend, he opened to door. The last thing he expected to see was Craig Manning, his student, looking tired, worn and scarred.

Craig was unaware of how truly awful and wounded he looked. Archie stared at Craig's black eye that was practically swollen shut. Purple and blue mixed along the kid's jaw line in a medley of bruises. Dried blood streamed down his nose. He could tell there was more by the way Craig cradled his side.

"Craig! Come in. What happened?" Archie stated pulling Craig into the house.

"Joey, get over here" he yelled causing Craig to jump.

He guided the young boy down to the couch, Craig moving slowly and obviously limping. The pain catching up with him, a tear streamed down his face mixing with the dried blood before quickly being wiped away. He regretted coming to Joey's in that moment. He felt weak and defeated. He had been hiding this, fending for himself, being strong for over 10 years since his parents got divorced and his mom moved in with Joey, but it was never this bad before. He had wished he was dead before, but Craig never seriously thought his dad would go this far. He just couldn't go back there, but did this mean he had to ask for help?

"Craig! Look at me. Are you ok? What happened?" Joey said jerking him back to the moment.

All Craig could do was cradle his head in his hands and deflect. How was this happening, and wow, his head was really starting to hurt, and he could feel blood seeping through his pant legs...was it getting harder to breath?

"Were you and Sean messing around? Were you somewhere you weren't supposed to be? It's ok if you were. Did you guys get in a fight...Craig…Craig? I'm gonna call your dad to come down here. I think we're going to have to take you to the hospital. You really don't look good" Joey calmly told the boy.

"No" Craig exclaimed, shocking both men in the room. "Please don't do that. You can't."

Craig wasn't feeling well. Dizziness was hitting him and the pain he had at his side gradually was growing stronger. Joey and Archie stared at Craig and then each other, suspecting the worst. Joey looked Craig straight in the eye.

"Craig look at me." Craig looked up. "Did your dad have something to do with this?"

"Joey, something's wrong." Craig murmured suddenly feeling nausea hit him. Unable to hold back, Craig choked for a moment then looked at what he had coughed up in his hand. It was blood. Craig doubled over the pain growing too much for him. He was tired and it was getting harder and harder to think straight.

"Joey please don't call my dad". Craig softly but urgently spoke.

Joey and his friend watched as Craig's eyes started closing and he fell back on the soft couch.

"Craig" he said softly shaking Craig "don't go to sleep, stay awake for me ok".

Craig's eyelids fluttered open, looking up at his step-father and teacher confused. "What's going on Joey?"

Archie slipped into emergency mode. "Come on buddy, we're just gonna go get you checked out, ok."

Joey and he rose to help get Craig up. Craig rose but when he put pressure on his left leg immediately fell back down. Craig groaned in pain. Joey lifted his pant leg to expose an obviously broken and bleeding leg.

"Oh god Craig" was all Joey could say, had Craig really walked all the way here on a broken leg? What is going on with this kid?

Supporting his weight Archie and his shaken friend helped Craig into the back of his car, Joey squeezing in next to him as Archie quickly made his way to the nearest emergency department, Craig struggling to stay conscious and breath the entire way, confusion and pain growing.

"Joey, I'm so sorry, I didn't want to get you involved in this, but I didn't know what else to do" he told his stepfather grimacing.

"Craig it's ok. You need some help. I don't want to see you hurt. I want to help you. Can you just tell me what happened?" he replied pausing for a moment "Whatever it is it'll be ok".

Looking away Craig answered "I got in a fight".

"With who, Craig?" Joey replied.

After a moment Craig answered solemnly "My dad…"

"How long has this been going on Craig?" Joey questioned.

Craig answered "As long as I can remember."

The car soon pulled into the emergency room. Archie ran in to get some help while Joey stayed with Craig who was getting more and more drowsy and winded.

"Just hang on Craig. It's all going to be ok. I'm here for you. This is never going to happen again. You're safe now." Joey told his stepson.

Craig could only nod.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey there Craig. My name is Ethan, I'm a nurse here. We're just going to take a look at you to see what's going on" a young man in green scrubs asked Craig.

As soon as they arrived at the hospital Craig was pulled back into a trauma bay and placed on a stretcher. Joey and Archie were forced out into the waiting room. Nurses and doctors swarmed around Craig ripping at his clothes and poking and prodding him. He felt more than uncomfortable but he hurt too much to care. His leg was killing him and the ache in his head was only getting worse. Ethan placed an arm reassuringly on his shoulder, but Craig flinched away at the sudden touch. His father's swift kicks still fresh in his head. His cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

He felt a cuff wrapped around his arm as they took his vital signs and the sharp poke of an IV entering his arm. His head was foggy; his vision closing in; his breathing more and more shallow.

"I really don't feel right" was all he could say.

"BP 86/39. Heart rate 127. Respirations 32 "Craig heard someone yelled as a man in a blue scrubs pressed his abdomen and another listen to his chest.

The shout of "He's bleeding out somewhere. We gotta move to the OR" brought Craig slightly out of the fuzziness in his brain. His father was a surgeon. Was this the hospital he worked at; the same operating room? He could be here. Find him.

"Is my dad here? Please don't let my dad know I'm here...please?" Craig urgently mumbled as the staff around him started to push Craig out of the room.

Ethan stopped what he was doing and looked him straight in the eye "You're safe here Craig" and then all he saw was darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

One of my earliest and clearest memory of my childhood was a fight. I was four and my mom was still living with us. We didn't have a perfect home life but at least we were together. I don't know for sure if my dad ever hit her or not but I wouldn't doubt it. He yelled at her a lot and called her names; put her down. He was an angry guy, a demanding guy, and he would lose his temper. She would try to hide it from me, but it never worked. She would find me hiding in a closet after quiet filled the house. She would hold me. She would tell me everything was fine.

They were fighting about Joey this time. My mom was telling him that she was leaving. There was a man she met and had been seeing that treated her well, that would treat me well and take care of us. My dad kicked her out before she could leave herself. Didn't let her pack her things, didn't let her take me with her. Part of me now is surprised she thought he would. As she was jumping into the car Joey had picked her up in outside of our house she grabbed me, looked me in the eye and told me she would be back, that she would fight for me, that she would get me away from him. She never did. I watched them drive away as my dad pulled me inside. He had never laid a hand on me before that day. I really believe my mom thought he wouldn't dare, but that day was the first time he hit me. I was crying and it was a slap in the face to shut me up. It didn't happen again for a while after that.

My parents went to court to fight for custody by the time I was five. My dad had money, plenty of it, a good job and great lawyers. My mom had nothing but Joey. Dad won. He hit me more after that, just where no one could see bruises or welts...never the face. He slipped up a few times but no one ever seemed to notice. A few bruises and broken bones are easy to cover up when you have a "clumsy" kid and you're a respected surgeon. I'll never know if my mom suspected anything was really wrong because three years later she had Angela, a year after that she was diagnosed with cancer and was dead by my tenth birthday.

I don't know what made tonight any different. I had been home from camp for a few weeks now so there was more situations for me to annoy him or do something wrong. He was extra stressed at work. I was hanging out with Sean and skipped class. I needed to cool off. I just couldn't take the tension. So we ditched and went skateboarding; played some basketball. I failed my science quiz we had that day and the school called dad when I wasn't home.

It was quiet when I finally had to make my way back home. Too quiet. My dad was sitting at the table with a coffee cup in his hand. I knew it was filled with American Honey before I was close enough to smell it.

"Hey dad, how was work?" I tried to play cool. Just act like nothing was wrong.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" he replied.

"No, I… I…" I stuttered.

"The school called...you skipped class… you failed a quiz. How do you think that makes me look?" he said calmly with anger deeply seeded as he got up from his seat.

"I'm sorry dad. I don't know what I was thinking." I replied.

He cut me off, "You don't think. You never think. That's why you always screw up!" He raised the coffee mug above his head and slammed it over my head.

I woke up a few seconds; or minutes later on the kitchen floor with blood running over my eyes. He was still screaming at me and before I knew it, I saw his Italian leather loafer swinging towards my face, once, twice, three times. I could feel my eye swell and my nose crunch. Another few kicks to the chest and stomach and I was short of breath. This was the worst beating I've had in a long time. He was out of control and didn't care what he was doing. He picked me up by my shirt and threw me against the wall.

"Be a man, you screwed up...deal with the consequences, live with the consequences...you're just like your mother."

I teared up at the mention of mom and with a few more punches to my face I was out. I woke up and quickly made my way up the stairs falling asleep or passing out at the foot of my bed, but not before locking the doors… not that it could make much of a difference.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"What is taking them so long" Joey asked his friend as both men sat in the waiting room. "I just want to know what's going on."

It's been hours since he had brought his beaten up step son into the emergency department where he had been whisked away. Joey had been given a stack of paperwork he could barely make any sense out of. He barely knew a thing about Craig. He hadn't been in this kids life much, especially in the last four years since his beautiful wife, Julia, had passed away and the visits became few and far between. He completed as much as he could but… was it erythromycin or penicillin Craig was allergic to? Did he get his tonsils or his appendix removed? He had no clue.

Then there had been trying to explain to the police the situation when he really didn't know what was going on. He started from the beginning over and over spurting out facts. He was married to Craig's mother who passed away. Craig lived with his father. Joey had no idea this was happening until Craig arrived like this at is door step this evening; told him his father was at fault. He gave the police Albert Manning's name and the only contact information he had, a cell phone number and address. Then he was left to wait. Frustration growing, Archie tried his best to calm his friend, brought him coffee, told him Craig was in good hands. But it wasn't enough. Joey wanted answers. He wanted to know Julia's son would be ok and that Albert would pay for what he's done.

Finally, a kind yet tired looking doctor wandered into the small waiting area, "Joseph Jeremiah… he said looking down at a file...are you with a Craig Manning?" he asked.

"Yes" Joey replied. "I'm his stepfather."

The doctor continued "My name is Dr. WIlliam Adams. I'm the physician that treated Craig when he first arrived. I had a moment to step away from his case...we have you registered as his guardian at the moment since the police filed a temporary protection from abuse clause against his father. That way we can disclose medical information?"

Joey nodded "Yes, is Craig ok?".

He continued "Craig is in surgery right now. He is not in the best shape. There were multiple injuries. You noticed Craig was drowsy and confused when he came in, yes? We worked him up for a head injury and thankfully the MRI showed there was no internal bleeding in his brain, so he more than likely just has a pretty severe concussion which is one of this things that lent to his behavior you noticed. There is not much we can do for concussions so we'll just have to monitor his neurological status for any changes after he wakes up."

"Ok, but you mentioned surgery?" Joey questioned.

"Yes" Dr Adams replied, while in our trauma bay his blood pressure dropped very low. His heart rate quickened and a fever spiked. He had pain in abdomen and obvious distention which indicated internal bleeding. He was unable to take deep breaths and his oxygen saturation plummeted. We were forced to rush to the OR for an exploratory surgery which is where we found a great deal of blood in his abdominal cavity. It appears a broken rib pierced and ruptured his spleen."

"Oh" Joey said shocked.

"My team is with him now attempting to repair the tear and stabilize him. They are doing all they can but he lost a lot of blood. They might have to remove the organ if we can't control the bleeding." He continued "Craig also has a fractured left leg. Our orthopedic surgeon will work on that leg once he is more stable but for now we are splinting it up so to not cause any more damage. On a more minor case Craig also has a large laceration on his head and a broken nose. We stitched him up and re-set his nose while under anesthesia. Once he is more stable we will have a plastic surgeon look at him, but for the immediate time we are just focusing on that internal bleeding. Now, I have to get back to his case but we will update you again, ok?"

"Ok" was all Joey could muster up.


	6. Chapter 6

"Damn it Craig. Why do you have to do this to me?" I vaguely heard my father say to me. I was 10 years old. I had just gone back to school after my mom died. I had a week off to say goodbye, mourn with Joey and Angela and attend the funeral. That was all I needed in my dad's opinion. So, he was less than thrilled when he got a call to pick me up from school at 11:30 am that Monday morning. I was sick to my stomach and threw up in art class all over my sculpture of a dog made out of clay I had somehow put together. Whether it be nerves, a bug or plain old devastation over the recent loss of my mother, I'll never know, but the feeling of my dad's hand grasped around my neck when we got home is something I could never forget. He hit me, shook me, and then literally pinned me against the wall by my throat. As my legs dangled, his hand gradually wrapped tighter and tighter. His voice fading with every second as blackness swept through my vision. All at once I can feel the choking, the panic, I can hear him yelling...and then suddenly I'm awake. White walls, antiseptic smell fills my nose...I'm in the hospital. Panic creeps in quickly as I realize I'm still choking. I can't breath. A man in scrubs crosses into my limited field of vision. "Craig, you're ok. There is a tube in your throat that is helping you to breath. We're gonna give you something to make you a little more comfortable, but you're ok." and just like I'm floating again back into nothing, and it's the best place to be.


	7. Chapter 7

"Mr. Jeremiah?" I hear as I awake, my neck already spasming from falling asleep on a hospital waiting room couch. Archie had gone home by this point. I didn't want him to miss school in the morning. I could deal with this on my own.

"Yes" I reply groggy.

"Craig is out of surgery" I quickly jolted awake as a younger doctor this time continued.

"The damage to Craig's spleen was unrepairable, we needed to remove the organ, but were able to stabilize the bleeding. His blood counts are still critically low. We've given him a blood transfusion and he might need more… but for now his vitsls are stable. Ortho was able to re-set and cast his leg after the surgery as well as splint some of his facial fractures…

My mind was racing full of this information. "Is he going to be ok?" I asked. The only question I could think of..

The young man slowed down, put his hand on my shoulder and replied "He's going to be ok."

"Can I see him" I asked next.

"Yes" he said "but I just want to prepare you. He is in the ICU or Intensive Care Unit right now until we can stabilize his blood levels and oxygenation. He is recovering from anesthesia, and the blood loss from his internal injuries decreased the oxygen in his blood. That along with his head injury mean we need to monitor him closely and keep him intubated. He has a tube in his throat that is helping him to breath and he is sedated to keep him comfortable. We are monitoring his heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen saturation constantly so he is hooked up to quite a few monitors. We are running antibiotics and fluids through an IV in his arm. There is another one in his elbow that is running blood. His nose is set and the laceration is stitched up on his head. He looks worse for wear right now"

"Ok" I told him "I just want to see him".


	8. Chapter 8

I couldn't help but think of Julia in that moment. The way Craig looked so small and pale under all those wires and monitors. Julia looked the same way in the days leading up to her death. The sight and smell of the ICU brought flashbacks to her final weeks, days, hours... her last moments for real that it almost sent me running back to the waiting room...back home...anywhere I could break down but I didn't. My wife needed me to be strong for her son. I needed to be there for him. Guilt swept over me. I tried to put the pieces together. How could this have happened? I hadn't seen much of the kid in the past few years but I should have paid more attention; seen the signs. I missed them. I missed my chance to protect him after Julia was gone, didn't even know he needed protecting. I knew his father wasn't the kindest man. I heard the stories Julia had told me, but never did they mention physical abuse, especially not towards Craig. I know the trouble he was in now. The rough life he's lived and I'm going to be there for Craig now. I won't let him get hurt again.

I slowly sat in the chair next to his bedside. The small room with a large glass door was crammed with medical equipment. The doctor had been right. IV poles and monitors filled the room. Beeps and whirls filled the silence. I looked at Craig bruised and still. His eyes were closed, a large tube coming from his mouth strapped to either cheek. Bandages and stitches covering his face. Monitors connected him to a large screen in the corner of the room and another at the nurse's station; monitoring his breath, his heartbeat, whatever life that is left in his body. His hair was wild and sticking up at every angle. I quickly pushed a curl away from his face, partly afraid to touch him but wanting this kid to feel some form of comfort. I wanted him to know someone was there for him. Someone would be there to watch out for him. Protect him. He had a different life now.


End file.
